Ducati Monster Forum

I was considering a slipper clutch for my monster. I was wondering if by using a slipper clutch is there any braking on the engine at all? What I mean by that is when I down shift will i feel any resistance from the engine at all? I dont want it to totally be gone i like using the engine to slow me down when down shifting.

Not to worry, their is still substantial engine breaking, its just safer, faster, better, etc with one than without one.

I had a slipper on my S2R800 and it was alright, it took a little getting used to not having one on my S4Rs. you Just have to make a slight modification on your timing for braking etc.

Are you locking up the rear now even with good rev matching on downshifts?    I not it's bling rather than usefull.

You can ride pretty hard on road or track before chirping a rear with a good blip and skillfull downshift.

I'm sure part of my problem is my lack of riding skills. I often lock up the rear wheel when I down shift and it scares the shit out of me, especially when going around a turn and the wheel kicks out. LOL.. 

I've only been riding for about a year now so i'm sure i have plenty to learn.

Learn to rev match, you'll love it [thumbsup]

Read my last post in this thread --->>  http://penndesmo.org/index.php/topic,47.0.html

I post as 900rider.

As stated by others, you can avoid most of your issues by throttle control/ability to match revs. BUT, that said, I still installed a slipper for those OH SHIT moments that catch you out.... Basically you would notice no difference in engine braking up to the point of wheel lockup. At which time the clutch will slip the plates eliminating the lockup. At this point engine braking goes south until the wheel regains momentum and traction.

A Slipper clutches is like ABS for the drive train. One does not have to have one - but it does come in handy sometimes.
We all know how to downshift and blip the throttle, but it is nice to have a little back up if you missed timed a downshift or ended up needing to downshift more than you thought. The slipper comes in handy on steep downhill turns or whenever the rear wheel is slightly unweighted. Once you get used to a slipper clutch, you find you are coming out of the turns in the right gear everytime and you don't have those butt puckering moments anymore.

You don't have to spend an arm and a leg on a slipper. We have Italian made slippers complete with high quality Surflex friction plates starting at $999:
MW 7000 Slipper Clutch w/ Surflex plates   (http://www.motowheels.com/italian/myproducts.cfm?parentcategoryid=442%7CDucati&productID=6224&showDetail=1&categoryID=1047|Clutch%20Assemblies&vendoridtodisplay=0&filterFor=&collection=168%7CEuropean%20Motorcycle%20Parts)

-M

$1000 is an arm and a leg to me!!

That's 3 track days and 2 or 3 new sets of tires!!

Don't downshift in corners. Get all that done before the corner. If you're in a high enough gear to lock up the rear, then you probably don't really need to downshift anyway. Duc twins have pretty good pull down low in the rev range.

My MTS has a dry clutch and it is pretty rare that I lock the rear on a downshift. Typically only when I'm riding hard and downshifting at higher rpms. It's more of a problem in the rain admittedly. After you get used to it it's actually fun!  [evil]

Slippers are nice (especially at the track), but not all that necessary. For the $1000 ( :o) you'll drop on a slipper you can get some good riding instruction via a couple instructed trackdays. That will be much more useful.

The design of the slipper modulates the amount of slip and you will still have engine braking.

I have said before, the slipper clutch is the best mod I have made, I have adapted my riding style to take full advantage of it.

Ditto Triple J comments, but you forgot to add 'learn to use the brakes!' The fastest way to corner is to stay on the gas and brake hard and late. All of the track day instructors will tell you this. If your on the road, then everything is just ratcheted back to the appropriate speed.

I learnt to drive as a kid in cars and trucks with shit brakes so you had to down shift and make use of the engine to slow the Vehicle. Brakes these days are so good you should learn to use them as the primary means to slow down.

You should only consider a slipper if you do heaps of trackdays as they just aren't worth the expense. Don't forget also that they require more maintenance and don't last as long. BTW you can't roll start your bike if your ever in trouble with battery.

Practice and get good at braking AND down shifting at the right time so that the wheel speed and revs are matched that way you won't lock up the rear. Good luck [thumbsup]

I beg to differ a bit. There is a substantial amount of rotating mass to be shed here. I wasn't focusing on that part in my decision but lemme tell ya, big difference.  [thumbsup] Though I suppose you could just replace the basket/plate parts etc to shed the weight, but why?  ;D

Not sure about the "more maintenance and don't last as long" part either. There is no maintenance on a hydraulic clutch other than flushing the fluid (assuming you have a clutch in working order and not counting normal wear and tear). That has to happen on both types. More wear would all depend on how much you are "slippin" it as that would be the only time additional wear would take place. I have seen plenty of guys bake a non-slipper quicker, through poor application/use/abuse. My Z1000 came stock with a slipper that went the life of the bike (albeit that life was cut short at 20k  :'( )

Just my .02 on it...

they do make a pretty fine slipper clutch. I love mine, but I got one cause it was something I was considering and my stocker was trashed....So I made the jump, other thing that is really nice is you also get a faster reving bike when its done because of the greatly reduced rotating mass.....

I have one, and as stated before, its mainly insurance.  I still rev-matched, but incase I forget to, or for some other reason don't, its there to keep me safe.  Further, slippers are significantly lighter than stock, and they're quieter too.  Plus, the clutch pull is usually lighter.  So even if you're not riding hard enough or properly, there is still plenty of justifications for getting one.

But to answer your question, yes, there's still plenty of engine breaking. 

Really just a money thing to me.  With the way my bike eats rear tires it eats all my mod money.  I had one on my old S4R and really liked it.

Like Capo says once you adapt to the slipper it's even better.  You get good engine braking, but never enough to slide the rear wheel and things are smoother at speed in the tight turns.

Like I've said before, the only time I have found a problem is if bump starting is required - that will just not work. :'(

LA